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The Minimalist Mom isn't a manual for your first year with your new baby. It also isn't a long list of unnecessary things to buy. It's an intentional guide to living with less and enjoying your brand-new life with baby more. By learning how to clear the things you don't need--expensive baby gear, piles of tiny clothes, a new SUV, an overscheduled calendar--you'll be able to simply and joyfully embrace the space, time, money, and peace they leave behind.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Less stress. Less mess. More love' is the book's mantra. The Minimalist Mom breaks down the areas where you can minimize into three sections: home, gear and clothing, and time, and asks us to examine what we really need, while giving us examples of how to un-clutter each of the categories." --Fit Pregnancy

About the Author

Rachel Jonat is the author of Do Less: A Minimalist Guide to a Simplified, Organized and Happy Life, The Minimalist Mom: How to Simply Parent Your Baby, and The Joy of Doing Nothing. A sought-out expert on minimalism and simplifying, she has been featured on television and radio, The Globe and Mail, Babble, and Business Insider. She lives in Vancouver, Canada, with her husband and three sons. You can read more of her work at her popular blog TheMinimalistMom.com.

Top customer reviews

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As someone who works in the parenting market, I've read hundreds of books on parenting. This is the one book I wish I had when I was pregnant with my first child. Don't be put off by "minimalist" - it's not like the author is advocating you have the baby, a box of diapers and one blanket. She takes a real-world approach at what's truly important in building a family - hint, it's not "stuff." This is a gift that will make a difference.

With baby #2 we found that we were simply collecting more junk and running out of room. After reading this book, my wife and I were inspired to start purging. The past 3 weekends we have thrown out, recycled, sold and donated 3 closets full of stuff and have never felt better! Read this book. Apply what you've learned. Feel the stress melt away. You won't miss the clutter.

Who lives in a three bedroom before having a baby? Not me, I guess I'm already a minimalist. If you live in the suburbs, have too much stuff and are looking to pare down then this might be a helpful read. If not, skip it.

When I picked up this book I was worried that it would either be a high-level philosophical argument for minimalism without much practical advice, or that it would be the opposite: a series of lists that didn't explain the reasoning behind minimalism parenting. Instead, the book is the perfect balance of practical, nitty-gritty advice, the logic behind it, and clear, real life examples of how minimalism can save you time, stress, and money.

The book is organized into four major sections: What is Minimalist Parenting, Home, Gear, and Clothing. In the first section, Jonat explains what my husband and I realized after we had our first baby: though quality family time was our highest priority, we were spending our money and time everything but: on our house, its furnishings, baby gear and toys, and maintaining our lifestyle. Ironically, our stress and guilt around having a bigger house and things to fill it achieved the opposite effect. We were stressed, had zero time, and our relationship suffered. The thing is, it's easy to realize what's going on, but even knowing that it's hard to stop it from happening. It creeps up on you, unless you follow Jonat's strategies.

The other three sections take you through strategies, life hacks, and product lists that help you avoid being consumed (time and money) by *stuff*. We're thinking about trying to have baby #2, and will be coming back to this book over and over when we have to decide what to buy for the baby, and how our lives will change with the introduction of a new family member. Perhaps the most helpful portions for me were the break-downs of how to organize your time to get the most quality time with family, at the same time that you take care of yourself. Because you have to really take care of yourself if you want to be a good spouse and parent. Jonat acknowledges that different families are in different situations, and provides three different strategies in each section for the beginner, intermediate, and all-in minimalists.

I can tell you that this strategies in the book work because we live them. In 2015, my husband and I sold our 3 bedroom house and took to the road with our 1-year-old son. You could call us all-in minimalists, and we've never been happier. Babies don't need a room full of toys and a big house to be happy--they need the loving stimulation of their parents, families, and caregivers. Now that we're not paying the extra taxes, mortgage, upkeep, and maintenance of the 3 bedroom house, we can afford to spend time and money to be together more often, to take our son to parks and playgrounds, to travel with him and introduce him to new cultures. We're no longer hanging on for that two-week vacation every year--without our mortgage, in a perfectly comfortable two-bedroom apartment, we live every day the way we want to--with stimulating work for Mommy and Daddy, and plenty of time with our son.

If the idea of becoming minimalist sounds great but overwhelming (how do I actually go about changing my lifestyle?), and frightening (can I really do this?) Jonat's book will guide you through everything. Though we've been minimalists for almost a year, there are plenty of strategies in here that will streamline our lives even more, help us gain efficiencies so that when we have baby #2, we can still maintain the simple, happy life we're leading now.

This was a great book that will help any new parent as they are figuring out what to purchase in the first year of life for your child. What was great about this book was that it showed you that you do not need to worry about getting the most expensive things to be a good parent, but you have to be smart about the decisions and the products that you will want to consider when you become a parent. This is a great book that has a ton of great ideas and resources!

I love this book. It offers advice on everything from how to prepare for baby’s arrival, to how to efficiently manage your time once the little one is here. It provides valuable checklists on what you’ll actually need for the first six months (hint: it’s not as much as you think), and creative ways to avoid the avalanche of baby-related stuff.

It’s only in hindsight that we realize how many of those registry “must-haves” were really unnecessary. How wonderful if someone had told us beforehand “you probably don’t need this” or “wait to buy it until you do.” Rachel outlines everything you need to know in such pleasant, readable fashion; it’s like getting advice from your best minimalist mom-friend over coffee. This book is truly a gift for all parents-to-be (and should be required reading for grandparents, too!).

Definitely a must-read for every new mother who desires to keep her life/commitments/belongings simplified even as she grows her family. This book reads like a mother's field manual. It's full of wonderfully practical, encouraging advice and even hard numbers for the math-types. Her confident voice communicates the point loud and clear: less is certainly more, even in motherhood.